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3232Gmail Blocks Millions Of COVID-19 Phishing Emails Dailyhttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/28/gmail-blocks-millions-of-covid-19-phishing-emails-daily/
Tue, 28 Apr 2020 09:28:23 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2807Google’s popular Gmail service has been busy. In a typical day, the company’s email system blocks more than a hundred million phishing emails. During the last week alone, the company […]

]]>Google’s popular Gmail service has been busy. In a typical day, the company’s email system blocks more than a hundred million phishing emails.

During the last week alone, the company reports that their system saw a massive spike in phishing emails related to COVID-19, with more than 18 million such messages being blocked in just the last seven days.

As staggering as that number is, that’s in addition to the more than 240 million COVID-related spam messages that Gmail blocks on a daily basis. As good as Google’s system is, the company reports that it’s not bullet proof. Unfortunately, some of the messages wind up slipping through and landing in users’ inboxes.

According to a recent blog post on the matter, here are just some of the ways that hackers, scammers and spammers have attempted to take advantage of the fear and confusion surrounding the pandemic:

Impersonating authoritative government organizations like the World Health Organization (WHO) to solicit fraudulent donations or to distribute malware.

Phishing employees operating in work-from-home settings

Capitalizing on government stimulus packages and imitating governmental institutions to phish small businesses.

Targeting organizations impacted by stay-at-home orders.

Google had this to say about the surge in such emails:

“We have put proactive monitoring in place for COVID-19 related malware and phishing across our systems and workflows. In many cases, these threats are not new – rather, they’re existing malware campaigns that have simply been updated to exploit the heightened attention on COVID-19.

As soon as we identify a threat, we add it to the Safe Browsing API, which protects users in Chrome, Gmail and all other integrated products. Safe Browsing helps protect over four billion devices every day by showing warnings to users when they attempt to navigate to dangerous sites or download dangerous files.”

No system is perfect, of course, but Google is clearly on the right track. Kudos to the Google team for keeping a watchful eye.

]]>Beware Of Phishing Emails Appearing As From The Federal Governmenthttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/24/beware-of-phishing-emails-appearing-as-from-the-federal-government/
Fri, 24 Apr 2020 09:30:04 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2810The Digital Security firm Inky reports that they’ve discovered a new, disturbing phishing campaign you should be aware of. The company has spotted a disturbing number of scam emails purporting […]

The company has spotted a disturbing number of scam emails purporting to be from Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States.

The emails bear titles like “Coronavirus Guidelines for America.”

It’s bad enough that hackers and scammers are taking advantage of the fear and confusion of the global pandemic to ply their trade. This campaign is noteworthy for the simple reason that the people behind it went straight to the top of the food chain. Not content to pretend to be from the CDC or the WHO, they opted instead to impersonate the people who hold the highest elected offices in the land.

It’s a bold move that’s paying off for them. After all, if you received an email from the Vice President, promising updates and information about the virus, odds are you’d want to take a closer look.

That’s exactly what the scammers are counting on. The emails they’re sending out have attachments that promise updates and information. However, all clicking on them does is install malware on the victim’s system, leaving them open to identify theft and the loss of a wide range of personal data.

As ever, vigilance is the key. If you don’t know the person sending you an email message, the safest course of action is to simply not open it at all. If you can’t resist opening it to take a peek, certainly don’t risk opening any attachments or clicking on any links the email might contain.

The hackers and scammers are relentless and are using the current fear, frustration, and uncertainty to lure unsuspecting victims. Don’t fall for it. Stay safe out there, both online and out in the world.

]]>New Windows 10 Disk Cleanup Feature Coming Soonhttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/23/new-windows-10-disk-cleanup-feature-coming-soon/
Thu, 23 Apr 2020 09:30:37 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2813If you’re a veteran Windows user, you’ve almost certainly made frequent use of the “Disk Cleanup” feature, which has been a standard part of the OS for what feels like […]

]]>If you’re a veteran Windows user, you’ve almost certainly made frequent use of the “Disk Cleanup” feature, which has been a standard part of the OS for what feels like forever. Recently though, Microsoft has given the utility a bit of a facelift and an upgrade.

Lurking under the hood of Windows 10, in the Storage setting, you’ll find an up to date version of the Disk Cleanup utility.

Where the old version of the tool would give you a generalized overview of how much space you have and how much you’re currently using, its latest incarnation breaks it down categorically, showing you the amount of space each category is occupying and allowing you to drill down into the details, find files you don’t want or need and get rid of them quickly and efficiently.

In addition to that, the latest Windows Insiders build (19603) has a new feature called “User Cleanup Recommendations” that creates a personalized list of files and applications that are rarely, if ever accessed. Next to the icon representing each program are a few details, including how much space they’re taking up and the last time you accessed them. That is so you can make smart decisions about what to keep and what to get rid of.

The newly redesigned Disk Cleanup layout also gives you a graphic depiction of how much space your machine’s temporary files are taking up. It includes a catchall “other” category which you can drill down into and take a closer look at if it starts crowding out the other, better defined categories.

Overall then, keeping your hard drive free of unwanted and unneeded files has never been easier. If you find yourself beginning to run low, you’ll find the process of freeing up space to be quick and painless.

]]>Ransomware Targets Company Working On A COVID-19 Vaccinehttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/20/ransomware-targets-company-working-on-a-covid-19-vaccine/
Mon, 20 Apr 2020 09:31:51 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2816It’s common knowledge that hackers are highly opportunistic and certainly not above targeting children, the sick and the dying if there’s money to be made. Even so, attacking a drug […]

]]>It’s common knowledge that hackers are highly opportunistic and certainly not above targeting children, the sick and the dying if there’s money to be made.

Even so, attacking a drug company currently doing research to find a vaccine for COVID-19 has to be counted as a new low, even for hackers. Sadly, that exact scenario has happened.

Recently, Hammersmith Medicines Research LTD (HMR) sent out a notification informing their patients and clients that they had been the victim of a ransomware attack. Worse, when the company refused to pay the ransom, the hacking group published some of the data they stole on the Dark Web in a bid to pressure the company to pay up.

HMR’s statement reads, in part, as follows:

“We are sorry to report that, during 21-23 March 2020, the criminals published on their website records from some of our volunteers’ screening visits. The website is not visible on the public web, and those records have since been taken down. The records were from some of our volunteers with surnames beginning with D, G, I, or J.”

The statement goes on to detail the data that was compromised, which includes the names and dates of birth of some of their volunteers, identifying documents, their answers to health questionnaires, signed consent forms, information from doctors, and some test results.

Unfortunately, this is a sufficient body of information to steal an individual’s identity. So if you’re one of the company’s volunteers, and you haven’t been contacted by the company yet, be aware that your personal information may have been compromised.

These are dark days, and hacking groups around the world seem content to carry on as though there’s not a global pandemic raging. While HMR may have been the first to fall victim to hacking activities during the pandemic, they will almost certainly not be the last, and that is unfortunate. The hackers, after all, need the vaccine as much as the rest of us.

]]>Over Half Of All Calls People Receive Are Spam Callshttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/18/over-half-of-all-calls-people-receive-are-spam-calls/
Sat, 18 Apr 2020 09:39:39 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2819If you’re like most people, you probably get a lot of calls over the course of a week. They’re probably calls that you’d just rather not get at all. How […]

]]>If you’re like most people, you probably get a lot of calls over the course of a week. They’re probably calls that you’d just rather not get at all.

How many of those calls do you get, exactly? Have you ever sat down and taken notes to track it? If you did, you might be shocked and dismayed at the results.

The good news is that you don’t have to.

Roboshield, a division of a California-based company, recently did the research for you. The news is even worse than you might have guessed.

Shockingly, the company found that more than half of all of the phone calls respondents to their survey received were unwanted spam or scam calls. The number clocked in at a staggering 54 percent!

Worse, the problem gets bigger the older you get. If you’re in your twenties, you can expect an average of 11 unwanted calls a week. Respondents in their 30’s and 40’s averaged 12 a week, and respondents aged 50 and up got 13 unwanted calls a week, on average.

Across the age spectrum, more than 80 percent of respondents listed unwanted phone calls as being more annoying than unwanted text messages or emails. Yet, fully half of Americans said they’d answer the phone if the number was an unknown caller but the number looked at least vaguely familiar.

One genuinely surprising find in the company’s results was the fact that more than half of all survey respondents (53.8 percent) said they had received calls from scammers claiming to be from one government agency or another. In addition, more than a quarter (25.5 percent) said they had received calls from scammers asking pointed questions aimed at getting their health insurance information.

Aside from simply ignoring your phone and letting it ring if you don’t recognize the number, the single biggest and best thing you can do to bring the number down is to add your number to the National Do Not Call registry. It only takes a few minutes and can save you tons of time and aggravation going forward, making it well worth taking the time to do!

]]>Google Data Shows Impacts Of Covid-19 Shelter In Place Precautionhttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/13/google-data-shows-impacts-of-covid-19-shelter-in-place-precaution/
Mon, 13 Apr 2020 09:41:42 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2826Google is using the massive footprint in the smartphone ecosystem to help people understand the impacts that social distancing is having in the face of the global pandemic. Their new […]

]]>Google is using the massive footprint in the smartphone ecosystem to help people understand the impacts that social distancing is having in the face of the global pandemic. Their new global Community Mobility Reports are both revealing and eye-opening.

The graph was created from the first reports, which covers 131 countries and regions around the world.

The information was taken from data collected between Sunday, February 16th, 2020, through Sunday, March 29th, 2020. It shows daily movement trends at key locations including social hubs like grocery stores, pharmacies, transit stations, workplaces, retail outlets and recreational areas.

Back on February 16th, most areas had not yet urged social distancing. The starting point serves as a baseline to compare the rest of the data against, and the differences are striking. In the United States, by Sunday, March 29th, traffic to retail centers, grocery stores, pharmacies and the like had fallen by a whopping 47 percent, with traffic to parks and workplaces being down 19 percent and 38 percent respectively.

Italy was the country most impacted by the virus in Europe. There, retail traffic had declined by 94 percent by March 29th, with traffic to parks and workplaces down 90 percent and 63 percent respectively.

Things are even more dramatic in Spain, which saw traffic to both retail and recreational sites drop by 94 percent. The decline has been nearly as dramatic in the UK, with traffic rates to those types of locations down a total of 85 percent.

In addition to giving viewers a bird’s eye view of global traffic trends, the reports make it possible to view state level trends in the United states. For instance, in New York, retail traffic has declined 62 percent, while traffic to parks and workplaces are down 47 percent and 46 percent respectively.

In any case, the reports are well worth checking out and provide a number of valuable insights into who’s doing what in response to the Cornoavirus.

]]>Crowded WiFi Networks Could Get Better Pending FCC Votehttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/11/crowded-wifi-networks-could-get-better-pending-fcc-vote/
Sat, 11 Apr 2020 09:40:29 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2822Wireless connectivity is becoming a victim of its own success. Every year, the appetite for bandwidth grows, but of course, there’s only so much to go around. The recent shelter […]

Every year, the appetite for bandwidth grows, but of course, there’s only so much to go around.

The recent shelter in place orders that have been issued by countries around the world has only added to the increasingly crowded spectrum.

Even without that, based on research conducted by Cisco, nearly 60 percent of global mobile data traffic is going to be handled by the WiFi spectrum, which is in dire need of expansion.

That’s exactly why the FCC has drafted new rules and will soon be voting on expanding the available spectrum to include an additional 1200 megahertz available for unlicensed use. The new rules, if adopted, would expand the spectrum available for WiFi by nearly a factor of five, which is absolutely game changing.

FCC chairman Ajit Pai had this to say about the new rules:

“From Wi-Fi routers to home appliances, Americans’ everyday use of devices that connect to the internet over unlicensed spectrum has exploded. That trend will only continue. (This new proposal) will enable significant new capacity, ensuring a solid future growth path for the Wi-Fi ecosystem relied upon by millions of homes and businesses.”

This is great news, but it’s not the first time that the FCC has floated the idea of expanding the spectrum. In 2018, the agency considered opening up the 6GHz band but was met with resistance from users already on the spectrum band. The hope is that the new rules will be warmly received, thanks to provisions aimed at protecting licensed users already on that band.

Time will tell. The next full meeting of the FCC is slated for April 23 and a vote will be held at that time. Here’s hoping the WiFi spectrum is about to get a whole lot bigger!

]]>Critical Timeline Approaching for SBA Loanshttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/04/01/critical-timeline-approaching-for-sba-loans/
Wed, 01 Apr 2020 09:43:00 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2829If you are a small business, more than likely you have heard about the CARES Act the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has enacted. While applications for the Act are […]

If you are a small business, more than likely you have heard about the CARES Act the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has enacted. While applications for the Act are not yet available, there are still steps you should be taking to make sure you are prepared to submit your application for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) once it goes into effect.

It is extremely important that you act quickly as the applications are processed on a first come, first serve basis. While the $350 Billion allotted for the program seems like a lot, those funds will be used up quickly.

Jeff Yakes from Yakes and Associates and Justin Kidd from Peoples Bank kindly provided us with an update on the loan process and steps we should all be doing right now to help secure the funds we need during this time of crisis.

Important Loan Information

1) The applications for the Paycheck Protection funds will not be available until either Thursday or Friday of this week (April 2nd or 3rd).

2) The SBA will determine the amount of the loan and not the bank.

3) The loan amount will be based on payroll, utilities, mortgage interest (not the principal), insurance expense, and rent. This will be the monthly average; however, the months have not been disclosed yet by the SBA. This average amount will then be multiplied by 2.5 resulting in your maximum amount of the loan.

4) These applications will need to be submitted with a bank that handles SBA loans. We are recommending you verify that your bank is an SBA preferred lender. This means that the bank has an internal SBA team within the bank. Otherwise, your application will then be rerouted to the SBA, losing valuable time.

Steps to Take with Your Bank

Reach out to your bank and verify the are an SBA preferred lender.

If you are unsure where to turn, Peoples Bank, an SBA preferred lender, has a process in place to help expedite your loan application. It begins with completing a submission form found on: https://www.peoplesbancorp.com/coronavirus/businessloan. You do not have to be a current client of Peoples to submit. The submission will allow Peoples to know which businesses are interested in the program, start working on internal resources, and share information with potential borrowers. This IS NOT an application for the loan, but it will help Peoples Bank expedite the process when the details are final. You can enter Justin Kidd as your preferred banker if you are not currently working with someone.

Reaching out to your bank can help you with more than your SBA loan as well. They can also assist in suspending mortgage payments (both commercial and residential), lines of credit payments, and auto loans. The banks are making this deferment very easy for consumers, no questions asked for 90-day deferments.

What Should You Do Now?

Contact your bank regarding the SBA loan if you have not already.

Make sure they are an SBA preferred lender

Ask if they have a process they are having clients follow.

Ask what type of information you should be gathering.

Begin gathering information.

To see what type of information will be needed for the loan application, the SBA provided a sample form for people to use as a reference. It can be found here.

Set time aside on Thursday, April 2nd and Friday, April 3rd to fill out your application and work with your bank.

]]>The Web Browser Wars have a Clear Winnerhttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/03/18/the-web-browser-wars-have-a-clear-winner/
Wed, 18 Mar 2020 10:36:26 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2669It’s notoriously difficult to get reliable statistics on web browser usage. While there are sites that purport to track such things such as StatCounter and NetMarketShare, the numbers coming from […]

While there are sites that purport to track such things such as StatCounter and NetMarketShare, the numbers coming from these sources have proved to be problematic and unreliable.

Enter the US Government’s Digital Analytics Program (DAP, for short).

While it doesn’t reveal anything about browser statistics worldwide, it does give us a running count of the browsers used when visiting government websites over the last 90 days, which gives us a clear view of the American browser market breakdown.

The results will probably not be terribly surprising to anyone, but in 2020, the most popular web browser is Google Chrome, with 49.3 percent of the recorded share of visits. This is a far cry from IE’s once dominant share of 96 percent back in the infancy of the web, but it’s hardly a surprise that no company has that kind of dominance anymore.

Apple’s Safari browser comes in a distant second with 31.6 percent. At a glance, this number is interesting because to this day, Macs only make up about 10 percent of the PC market. Remember though, that most web surfing is done on smartphones these days. In the US, 29.5 percent of smartphones are Apple devices, compared to 23 percent Android devices. So most of the Safari use actually comes from phones, not PCs.

The big surprise is the third place winner. Internet Explorer. Despite the fact that Microsoft has been urging people to switch to Edge, IE is still the third most widely used browser, capturing 5.7 percent of the market. IE 11 is the most popular version, but there are still some users (0.5 percent of the market) using IE 7 which has been out of support for years now.

Edge loses out to IE, capturing only 4.2 percent of the market, and bringing up the rear is Firefox, with a mere 3.6 percent. The remaining 11.3 percent of the market share is divided up between a constellation of tiny, seldom used browsers that nonetheless have niche followings.

If you use Chrome, count yourself among the mainstream. If you’re still using IE, please consider switching to a more modern, more secure browser. Seriously.

]]>The Coronavirus: Working from Home and Your Network Securityhttps://www.bssi.biz/2020/03/13/the-coronavirus-working-from-home-and-your-network-security/
Fri, 13 Mar 2020 10:31:00 +0000http://www.bssi.biz/?p=2663With Governor Dewine announcing a three-week break for Ohio schools starting end of day Monday, March 17th, and the general turn toward social distancing, there are many companies who may […]

]]>With Governor Dewine announcing a three-week break for Ohio schools starting end of day Monday, March 17th, and the general turn toward social distancing, there are many companies who may need to have their employees work from home. Depending on a company’s continuity plan, this could leave organizations more vulnerable to cyberattack. Hackers have always taken advantage of emergency situations and unfortunately this case is no different. Here are some things to consider as you plan your next steps.

Network Setup

Working from home starts with a good home network setup. Ensure you have a router that is up to date with the latest firmware updates provided by the manufacturer and avoid using the default admin passwords on your router. If you are utilizing wireless internet at home, check to see that it is encrypted using one of today’s latest wireless encryption protocols. Finding the information is dependent on your device. For PCs click your wireless icon and select “properties”, then look at the security type. We recommend WPA2 or WPA3. To locate this for other devices visit this link for instructions https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/tell-what-security-type-wi-fi-is/. Avoid using wireless connections marked as “open” whether at home or at a public place.

VPN

Companies that allow remote workers to access the internal network, need to provide a properly configured virtual private network (VPN) connection. This connection should ideally be accessed by a company device that has up to date antivirus and malware programs. All traffic should go directly through the VPN connection (no split-tunneling) to prevent outside malware from accessing the company network. To see if split-tunneling is set up on your VPN contact your VPN administrator.

For the most secure access, the VPN should be configured with multi factor authentication, providing an extra layer of authentication before allowing a connection. Note that this will only work if their laptop (work or personal) has the VPN connection. If the employee only has a stationary workstation they would need remote desktop protocol (RDP) in addition to the VPN.

Office 365

For those utilizing Office 365, you have the flexibility of accessing office tools and company data in the cloud. Once again, for better security, Office 365 should be configured with multi-factor authentication. Another secure option for Office 365 is to prevent access outside of the US. This is known as geo-ip fencing and can significantly reduce the amount of bad actors trying to login to your company’s tools.

What to do now?

Companies should be thinking about and planning what they will do in the event of a quarantine right now. Start testing and putting together guidelines around who can and who can’t work from home.

We realize with the current school closures action needs to be taken quickly, however please be patient as we assist in whatever way we can. You can call us at 740.475.1700.